Selam Manufacturing

Written by Lonny (July 23, 2010)

Abera and I went to Selam Manufacturing which is an extension of Selam Children’s Village.  The Village is an orphanage of about 400 children. As the children enter high school they take academic tests if they pass they can continue with their education if they do not they have to go to work.  The manufacturing center is set up like a vocational school where the students are taught skills such as welding, wood working, masonry, etc.  This gives the nonacademic students a chance to better themselves. The school sells the products that the students make to help fund the school.

We purchased a hand crank water pump to use with our wells at Kokosa. The pump is very simple yet very effective and inexpensive, 2000 birr ($150) for everything including the pipe.  I am excited to try it out.

I went to lunch today with a group that Mike and Julie Rhodes brought on an expedition.  Two of the young men did Eagle projects as part of their trip.  It was fun talking with them about their experiences and remembering my first visit to Ethiopia.  They had been discussing how they were going to explain the experience to their friends and family.  The one word that they came up with was unbelievable.  I agree.

This afternoon Abera, Tsehay and I ripped through the pro forma budget that I had set up.  It is really nice to have three strong opinions that come from opposite sides of the dairy business.  The pro forma is now much better than what it was to begin with.

Abera and I loaded up the pickup truck to go to Kokosa.  We have the water pump and the semen tank in the truck and a very large water tank on a trailer that we are pulling.  We are going to leave at 4:00 am so that we don’t have to try and maneuver a trailer around in the Ethiopian traffic.

Thanks to Joshua’s scouting requirement I have been exercising almost every day.  It really helps me get going in the morning and I am seeing some improvement in my physical condition. I do stretching, pushups, sit-ups, pull-ups, and I try and walk some every day.

When I called home on Skype I was serenaded by Erika and the girls singing a barbershop version of Lollipop. They are really good and I love to hear them sing.  We read from Helaman chapter five this morning.  I noticed that in verse twelve it says that “when” not “if” the devil sends forth his … “challenges” we need to be prepared by having a firm foundation in Christ.  I am grateful for my faith in Christ because I have had some big challenges here that could have really discouraged me to the point of not trying anymore. The power of the Lord can and does lift us and carry us through those hard times.